NCJ Number
181890
Journal
Prevention Researcher Volume: 7 Issue: 1 Dated: February 2000 Pages: 5-7
Date Published
February 2000
Length
3 pages
Annotation
This study assessed the primary and secondary prevention of dating violence in the Safe Dates project, a partner-violence prevention program for adolescents.
Abstract
Safe Dates consists of school and community activities. School activities promote primary prevention, and school and community activities promote secondary prevention. School activities include a theater production performed by peers, a 10-session curriculum, and a poster contest. Community activities include community service provider training and special services for adolescents in abusive relationships such as a crisis line, support groups, and materials for parents. The evaluation was conducted in a predominantly rural county in eastern North Carolina. The 14 public schools in the county with students in the eighth or ninth grade were stratified by grade and matched on school size. One member of each matched pair was then randomly assigned to a treatment or control condition. Students at treatment schools were exposed to school and community activities, and students at control schools were exposed to community activities only. In October 1994, baseline data were collected from adolescents during 50-minute, in-school sessions through self-administered questionnaires. Questionnaires were completed by 81 percent (n=1,886) of the 2,344 eligible adolescents. Program activities were conducted from November 1994 through March 1995. Four victimization and four perpetration variables were measured. At follow-up, there was 25 percent less psychological-abuse perpetration, 60 percent less sexual-violence perpetration, and 60 percent less violence perpetrated against the current dating partner in treatment schools than in control schools. In addition, school activities had effects on several proposed mediating variables. Explanations for the findings are offered. 1 figures